Lightning eMotors Sees Acceleration of Electrified Vehicle Deployment with California Transit Agencies

• Five California public transit agencies deploy Lightning eMotors’ zero-emission Class 3 transit vans and Class 4 medium-duty shuttle buses acquired through the CalACT/MBTA Vehicle Purchasing Cooperative
• All CalAct members are eligible to purchase vehicles through the CalAct contract
• The CalAct contract represents a potentially exponential growth opportunity for medium-duty, zero-emission vans and buses

Lightning eMotors (NYSE: ZEV), a leading provider of all-electric powertrains and medium-duty and specialty commercial electric fleet vehicles, announced today an increase in orders, and reorders from the CalACT Vehicle Purchasing Cooperative managed by Morongo Basin Transit Authority (MBTA). The increase in orders are from public agencies who are members of the California Association for Coordinated Transportation (CalACT).

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The contract makes it easy for California municipalities to purchase Lightning's electric E-450 shuttle and Transit passenger van (Photos: Lightning eMotors)

The CalACT contract is a purchasing instrument that simplifies and expedites procurement for CalACT members. To be considered for inclusion on the contract, Lightning went through a rigorous qualification process including an MBTA site visit and audit by its consultants, as well as CalACT transit agency visits to the facility to review the manufacturing process.

“We have seen a surge in demand and interest for our electric commercial vehicles in California from municipalities that are part of CalACT and we anticipate that those numbers will grow dramatically in the coming years,” said Tim Reeser, CEO of Lightning eMotors. “In the past six months, we have received orders for both our ADA-compliant 350HD transit van and E-450 shuttle bus from five California cities, with additional vehicles in the pipeline.”

The nearly 200 municipalities that are part of CalACT and eligible to purchase off of the contract, on average, purchase 800 vehicles per year. As one of a select few approved electric commercial vehicle manufacturers, and the first to deliver such vehicles under the contract, Lightning is in a prime position to be the vendor of choice as California cities, counties and transit agencies strive to meet the state’s carbon neutrality mandate. Under the Innovative Clean Transit regulation adopted in 2018, 100% of new medium- and heavy-duty truck and bus purchases must be all-electric by 2029, with a goal for full transition by 2040.

Lightning eMotors’ Class 3 350HD transit van and Class 4 E-450 shuttle bus are available through California-based CalACT-authorized partners A – Z Bus Sales and Creative Bus Sales, and Las Vegas-based RO Bus Sales. The all-electric E-450 shuttle bus has a capacity of up to 24 passengers and range of over 120 miles while Lightning’s electric 350HD transit van seats 15 with a dynamometer confirmed range of more than 120 miles.

According to the American Lung Association’s 2021 “State of the Air” report, eight California cities appear on all three lists of most polluted cities in the United States for unhealthy ozone days, unhealthy spikes in particle pollution, and for annual particle pollution levels. Electrifying commercial passenger and last/middle mile cargo transportation vehicles will play a key role in improving overall air quality by reducing carbon emissions, particularly in densely populated urban areas. In fact, recent estimates from the Alternative Fuels Data Center have shown that depending on the source of electricity, annual emissions per vehicle for all-electric vehicles can lead to a 67% decrease in CO2 emissions nationally.

Lightning eMotors has delivered eight of 11 vehicles initially ordered and expects to deliver the remaining three before the end of the year. An additional five orders from more new agencies are also on track to close in the coming month.

“More than four in 10 Americans live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution which continues to amplify Covid-19 cases,” Reeser said. “Zero Emission vehicles like those built by Lightning eMotors are already having a positive impact on California communities from Oakland to Santa Barbara and these orders are just the tip of the iceberg.”

ABOUT LIGHTNING eMOTORS

Lightning eMotors, (NYSE: ZEV) has been providing specialized and sustainable fleet solutions since 2009, deploying complete zero-emission-vehicle (ZEV) solutions for commercial fleets since 2018 – including Class 3 cargo and passenger vans, ambulances, Class 4 and 5 cargo vans and shuttle buses, Class 4 Type A school buses, Class 6 work trucks, Class 7 city buses, and Class A motor coaches. The Lightning eMotors’ team designs, engineers, customizes, and manufactures zero-emission vehicles to support the wide array of fleet customer needs with a full suite of control software, telematics, analytics, and charging solutions to simplify the buying and ownership experience and maximize uptime and energy efficiency. To learn more, visit https://lightningemotors.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the anticipated launch for CalACT/MBTA vehicles , whether the increase in purchase will be sustainable or the catalyst for other public entities to accelerate their adoption of commercial electric vehicles, the potential impact on Lightning eMotors’ costs and demand for its products, the expected delivery date for the new electric commercial trucks, and statements regarding Lightning eMotors product and customer developments, its expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions, plans, prospects or strategies regarding the future revenues and expenses and the business plans of Lightning eMotors’ management team. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the management of Lightning eMotors in light of their respective experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments and their potential effects on Lightning eMotors as well as other factors they believe are appropriate in the circumstances. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Lightning eMotors will be those anticipated. These forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results or outcomes to be materially different from any future results or outcomes expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors include, but are not limited to: (i) the actual number of zero-emission commercial trucks purchased pursuant to the agreement and the actual revenue generated thereunder, (ii) those related to our operations and business and financial performance; (iii) our ability to deliver the products and services under the agreement on the expected timetable; (iv) the success of our customers’ development programs which will drive future revenues; (v) our ability to execute on our business strategy and grow demand for our products and our revenue; (vi) the potential impact on our costs; (vii) the potential severity, magnitude and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic as it affects our business operations, global supply chains, financial results and position and on the U.S. and global economy; (viii) current market conditions and federal, state, and local laws, regulations and government incentives, particularly those related to the commercial electric vehicle market; (ix) the size and growth of the markets in which we operate; (x) the mix of products utilized by the Company’s customers and such customers’ needs for these products; and (xi) market acceptance of new product offerings and whether this will be a catalyst for others to purchase electric vehicles. Moreover, we operate in a competitive and rapidly changing environment, and new risks may emerge from time to time. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved, if at all. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions being made prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

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